Never Just A Dream
by AngeloftheMorning1978
Summary: RE-POST! Org. Dream. 1st in my Dream series. Ariadne is kidanped by COBAL. A&A loving!
1. Never Just a Dream

Never Just a Dream

** Now don't get mad kids! This is the same story once called (DREAM) I had been meaning to update and re-post this story for a long time now. Been super busy with my other stories. This is the first in my series and I wanted to make it flow better. **

** I just needed a kick in the pants by my friend. (TASHA!) who laughed at all my typo's. Love you lots you sexy BEE-Itch!**

(Takes Place after the Fisher Job)

"_And if tonight my soul may find her peace in sleep, _

_and sink into good oblivion."_

_D.H. Lawrence_

The mission had ended well. Cobb had gone home to his family. There was a nice feeling of a well accomplished mission, and sense of comradeship that only happens when everyone involved, has played their part well and succeeded.

Arthur had a rare smile as he tried to avoid Ariadne's eye. Eames explained to Saito the inception appeared to have taken. That Fischer seemed to have made peace with himself and wanted to be 'his own man' Saito was impressed.

The Tourist had insisted on treating the remainder of the Team to drinks and dinner in an upscale hotel. He even paid for the hotel rooms for each member of the Team.

Like all Japanese business men, he took his R&R_ very _seriously. He provided generous amounts of champagne and interesting talk of dream levels. Hours passed, daylight waned away. Yuseff became as drunk as Saito and Arthur and Eames helped them to their own rooms in the hotel.

"I think Saito wants to be an Extractor when he grows up." Eames teased as they left the businessman snoring. Ariadne had laughed but Arthur seemed more serious.

"We have to disappear in the morning." He said softly. Not really speaking to anyone. Eames grumbled to himself about catching a red eye in a hour. Arthur looked at Ariadne as she fumbled clumsily with her room's key card.

"Where are you disappearing to?" She asked. He looked down at his shoes.

"Best not to tell you. It would be safer, after a job like this, if a Team separates." He explained "No contact, at least not for a while." Ariadne nodded sadly.

"I'll be going back to Paris in the morning." She said trying to make her voice bright. "I have dual citizenship in France and The States. I won't use the same passport I used for the flight in." Arthur nodded.  
>"Smart." He said. They stood in the empty hallway, as a heavy silence fell on them.<p>

"So listen, I wanted to talk to you about what happened in the dream." He said very serious and almost cold. She laughed.

"I'm not mad at you for stealing a kiss. I live in France you know." She said with a smile. Arthur seemed surprised.  
>"Umm... no I wasn't thinking about that." he said scratching behind his head. "I wanted to talk to you about the risk you took by going into Limbo with Cobb. It was very dangerous. There was always the chance Eames couldn't line up the kick. The van was in free fall, I had to simulate a fall in the elevator to give you your own kick. There was a real chance I wouldn't be able to bring you out." He gave her a stern look. She sighed softly and felt slightly embarrassed.<br>"I trusted Eames to do what needed to be done." She said honestly. " I trusted you." He looked up at her then and met her eyes fully.

"I wanted you to know that my yelling at Cobb... that it had nothing at all to do with you." He said with difficulty. "You did everything right in the dream. My... anger, wasn't meant for you to hear. I'm sorry you had to see it."

"I know." She said "Cobb threw us a curve ball." She said feeling herself blush slightly. She finally unlocked the door to her hotel room. Arthur's stance seemed to relax.

"You know if you _are_ mad at me for stealing a kiss, I can always give it back to you." He teased leaning in closer with a smile. Ariadne blushed and smiled back as she stepped into her room.  
>"Good night, Arthur." She whispered playfully and she closed the door on him.<p>

She locked it quickly, suddenly overcome by a school girl giddiness that was either the champagne, the mission or the Point Man outside her door. She stood on tip toe and looked out her room's peep hole. Arthur was still there, hanging on her door frame.

For a thrilling moment she wondered if he would barge in. He was long and lean. Much stronger then he looked. As the Point Man, he took the most dangerous position of anyone in the Team. If he barged in, would she stop him? Ariadne smiled to herself as she spied on him through the peep hole. Taking in his well tailored suit and careful manners.

Remembering the dream, in the Hotel.

After they had left the lobby, he said nothing of the playful kiss he had tricked out of her. She couldn't stop the blush from coming on her face as she watched him prepare the charges. She was suddenly seeing him in a new light. Not as her teacher or Team member, but something more. Suddenly she was seeing him with new eyes. His graceful movements, his intelligence. She suddenly noticed his large hands and kind eyes and voice he only used with her.  
>When Fischer's projection of Browning appeared at door, Arthur took him down easily. The Architect had gasped softly at the sight of Point Man holding a gun over the older man. She had to keep telling herself that it was just a projection of Browning. Nothing more.<p>

She did not go on this mission with Cobb looking for anything like Arthur. She had no need or time for romance. Arthur was different. He, as well as the rest of the Team treated her like a very valued Team member. They explained things to the new dreamer without being condescending. She was always made to feel she brought something important to all of them. It was a wonderful feeling and it made her want to do her best work for them.

She watched him smile to himself and walk away. For a moment, she was suddenly sad. He had wanted to kiss her again. She was sure of that. She had wanted him to come in. She turned around to look at her lonely hotel room. She would not be the one to run after him like some love crazed girl. She may live in France, but she still had old fashioned beliefs on love.

~Returning to Paris was not pleasant. She flew coach under her French passport. Cobb had called her that morning from a disposable cell phone and said her payment would be wired to her account that day. He seemed more stable. Less agitated. Perhaps being in limbo with Mal had given him peace.

Saito and Yuseff were already gone when she checked out and Arthur was nowhere to be seen as she left for France. Cobb had made it very clear to her not to try and contact any member of the Team until one of them (Arthur or himself) would contact her. He had ended their brief conversation by telling her that she was the most talented architect he has ever worked with and that if she wanted more work in dream extraction, she need only ask.

The compliment made her very happy. She had felt over the past weeks that her intellect and imagination had been stretched and there were times she felt she could barely keep up with the Team intellectually. It was just so much to take in. But Arthur had been her guide on this new adventure. A kind and patient one who never grew tired of her endless curiosity.

Paris now seemed different to her. She had chosen to study architecture here because there were no other buildings like the ones in Paris. The wide streets, the graceful lines and colors were always an inspiration to her. Suddenly, the City of Lights was no longer so engrossing to her. What can Paris hold compared to the worlds she had created and destroyed in the dream world?

Her apartment was in a very Persian part of the city. Small and efficient but suitable for a student. Her Grandfather had left it to her along with a large trust fund that enabled her to study anywhere that would have her, in any country she cared to study in. Her parents had died when she was young and she was raised by the kindly but brilliant old man who had passed away when she was 19.

Since his death she had studied all kinds of subjects all over the world. She was never satisfied by any major. She studied art, history, literature and now architecture. She often laughed at herself for being a professional student. She had no other family to nag her about getting married and having children. Her life was alone and all her own.

Perhaps that was why she so wanted to help Cobb get back to his own young children. No child should feel the loneliness she always felt. Miles had reminded her so much of her Grandfather. He was still in America with Cobb and wouldn't return till next semester.

Paris seemed empty now. The people felt like nothing more then projections.

~Arthur was in New York, thinking of a good reason to make a quick flight to Paris. He had wanted to brake down Ariadne's door that last night. He wondered if she would scream at him. Become angry. Or if she would allow him to take her. To be almost savage with her and ungentlemanly.

It was in his nature to be bold. He succeeded in everything he did by being his way. It was this unafraid nature that had made him kiss her. He refused to be shy about it afterward. Ariadne hadn't seemed angry about it. More relaxed even. She had said nothing about it after. Nothing like a silly girl would have. She had stayed focused on the mission. It made him like her all the more.

It was raining in New York. Everything was wet and gray. The people moved in nice predictable lines as he watched them from his window. His large well appointed Manhattan apartment was modern and elegant.

Arthur's taste.

It had been his childhood home and with his parents gone it was now his only home. He had spent his entire youth in very exclusive boarding schools all over the world. He only came home during the brief winter breaks and even then his father weren't there.

His beautiful Mother had died when he was still young. He had felt her absence profoundly. After her death, his world became cold. He never knew the attention Cobb lavished on his children and was envious.

The boarding school his Father sent him to had been good for him. He found comfort in the life he lead there. He dressed well, simply because he had always been expected to dress well. It was a habit for him. He excelled in school because he found the work easy.

After college, he joined the military where he learned about dream sharing. The military and it's training appealed to his careful, meticulous nature. He was a born perfectionist. He expected the best from himself and others around him. He had very little patience for others incompetence and _always_ let them know it.

But Ariadne had been different. Nothing like the silly girl he was afraid she would be. She was smart and brave. She stood up to Cobb when lesser mortals trembled. He liked to teach her about the dream world. She asked the _right_ kind of questions. She wanted to understand and learn about the nature of dreams, not for the money but for the thrill of the new worlds she made.

When he had found out about the train crossing in the dream he would have snapped at a male architect. But his manners and his liking her had only made him ask instead. After she explained about going into Limbo with Cobb, he had been angry. The elevator drop had worked as a kick to pull them out, but it was a close thing.

He downed the last of his drink and picked up his cell phone. He would take a flight to Paris. Let Cobb say what he would. Arthur had a bad feeling in his bones, he needed to go check on the Architect.

As Arthur was looking out his window in New York, the Architect was getting ready for bed. She had spent that Sunday in the flower market and couldn't resist putting fresh flowers all around her little room. It brightened up her blue toile wallpaper that was _'oh so Paris_' with shots of red, pink, yellow and green. It made her room seem more dream like. She couldn't help but wonder if Arthur would like it. As the city glowed around her, she quickly fell asleep.

**Bang**.

A loud noise jerked her from a dreamless sleep better then any kick she had felt before. Ariadne was wide awake as gruff noises and light flooded her room. She was too shocked to scream as the men dressed in black with there faces covered were on her.

One had ripped the phone from the wall and threw it on the floor. She had made a feeble attempt to put space between them and her, but her tiny apartment granted her no room to escape them. One of them pulled her out of bed by her hair and she had been to shocked and afraid to scream out.

The other had hit her with something. A vase her new flowers were in. She felt water on her face and saw flowers falling as she tried to stay awake. The rest was only black.


	2. Down the Rabbit Hole

Down the Rabbit Hole

"_I am not asleep... but that dose not mean I am awake."_

_Unknown_

It was mid day by the time the Point Man arrived in Paris. He briefly thought about bringing her flowers. But perhaps that was to forward. He was just here to check on her after all. He was only one member of the Team checking on another member of the Team. Completely normal.

He knew her building from the time he spent teaching her dreams. He had insisted on getting a cab for her in those early days. She stayed at the warehouse late and he was reluctant to let her walk home. He would ride with her, saying that the streets of Paris were dangerous. Even going with her to her building and making certain she was safe inside before telling the driver to take him back.

He had only done this only a few times before she told him curtly that she had been living in Paris alone for two years and didn't need a chaperone. She had seemed almost angry. He could tell then, that she expected to be treated like an equal member of the Team. Nothing less would do.

Still, he tailed her from a safe distance as she walked home.

He had spent the day outside her building looking over news stands and pretending to enjoy a coffee in the quaint little cafe. Her neighborhood was lovely. Quite and _very_ trendy. It was not swept up by the modern world. Like a Paris that existed from decades before. A special and secret place. He waited and watched for her to come home.

He was ever patient.

Time passed.

The time when she should have been home from the college came and went. He wondered if she was out with friends. Perhaps on a date. He pushed that thought out of his head. She never said anything about a boyfriend. Her time had belonged to the Team and the mission. A boyfriend would never have allowed that.

The locals had come out in the cool spring air, and still no Ariadne. They were talking in there fast clipped French accents that Arthur could barely understand. He was never good at foreign languages despite his heavily stamped passport. It was in trying to shut out their chatter that he understood a few words.

"The American girl."

"The student."

"Kidnapped."

"Last night."

"So awful."

"Police.

"No one knows."

The Point Man stood up. Silently and with a purpose, he walked to her building.

It was unlocked because of all the passing of the residents inside and he quickly walked the halls of her building like he lived there. No one stopped him and he wondered which room was hers. An older woman was sitting in the lobby. Using _very_ bad French he asked her.

"Police. Quelle piece a et e l'womans American?" the kindly lady looked surprised. She nodded holding her heavily ringed hand over her ample bust.

"Salle 26" She said looking after the Point Man as he bounded up the stairs. Arthur didn't have a weapon on him but his face betrayed a fierceness that no one would trifle with.

Room 26's door was opened like a wound. The door was broken from it's frame and left that way. Only police tape covered the doorway. Ariadne's privet home was left exposed. Arthur found this somewhat offensive. As if Ariadne was violated, for all her neighbors to see. Fresh flowers and broken glass covered the floor.

"Sir! Quelle sont vos faire?" Came the voice of the police man leave an adjoining apartment. Arthur turned his hard face to the small man.

"Ou est la femme Americaine?" The Police man's shoulders collapsed and he said in perfect English.

"Sir, are you a relative?" Arthur nodded.

"Her boyfriend. What happened? Is she in the hospital?" he hoped.

"Let us step inside, away from the gossipers eh?" The congenial little mad guided Arthur into Ariadne's apartment and spoke quietly.

"Sir, we believe it happened sometime during the night. The neighbors heard a noise and called the police. When we came, the Lady was already gone. Her suite was as you find it now. I ask you, when was the last you heard from the Lady?"

"Over a month ago." Arthur said as if on auto pilot.

He looked around the room. Her furniture was rustic and charming. The prints on the walls were fashionable and feminine. Her little kitchen was clean and small. Large bookcases house books on art, history and mythology. A finely framed photograph of an older gentleman on the deck of a sailing yacht sat prominently on her nightstand.

There were small but colorful vases filled with fresh flowers. The broken phone was sprawled on the floor and now that he looked closer, there was blood on the floor. Her blood, broken glass and stepped on flowers polluted her floor.

This place felt tainted now. Violated. It would have been a lovely place for them to be together. But now... he had to leave.

"A month? Sir? You said you are her lover but you have not spoke with the lady in over a month? Sir, I apologize, I never got your name." the congenial little man said, growing suspicious.

Arthur turned around and left.

~Ariadne woke up to darkness. She was cold and her face hurt. Adrenaline surged into her body as she realized she didn't know where she was. Memories of those men in her room flooded back to her.

Invading her home. Their rough hands grabbing her hair. Falling flowers.

She came to realize slowly that her hands and feet were bound. She was laying on a bed of some kind. Her night clothes were still on her, and she felt the stiffness from being in the same position for to long. She couldn't help but whimper softly as fear overcame her.

She remembered all those stories of American girls being taken from foreign cities and sold as sex slaves. She was a young woman, alone in Paris with no relatives and only a few friends. All of whom, she had ignored during her work on the Fischer job.

"There now girl." Came a sordid voice, defiantly male. "Were just waiting for the order before were going to be done with you." Ariadne finally found her voice, and her gusto.

"_Please_, you don't have to do this. You don't have to do anything." She realized the reason she couldn't see was because she was blindfolded. "Look, you can just let me go. I never saw anyone. Just drop me off someplace, I don't care." Silence was her only response. "_Listen to me_! Listen! I have money. I have money. I can give you money if someone paid you. Just don't do this, _please!_" She heard a door close and she knew instinctively that she was alone. Like a child afraid of monsters, she called out softly for a comfort.

"_Arthur._"

~"Arthur... Mate... all right... slow down." Eames was half asleep. As per usual, a lovely bare chested exotic woman lay next to him. She stirred as Eames took a call that would not wait.

"Ariadne." Arthur said again. Frustrated he had no one else to call. He thought about bringing Cobb in, but being back with his children was still to new. The Extractor had worked to long and hard to be back with his children to be torn away from them now.

Besides Eames was the best at what he did. Which was a little bit of everything.

"Oh Arthur," Eames sighed. "I cant help you with your love life Mate."

"Eames!" Arthur shouted. "Ariadne is _gone_. Her apartment has been torn apart and she was taken. She's been gone for over 18 hours now." Arthur was feeling close to panic now. It was night and he had checked into a hotel 20 miles outside of Paris to avoid the police. He was also feeling guilty for feeling tired. The time change and trip had taken it's toll on his body and he hated it for betraying him when the Architect needed him.

Eames grasped quickly the horror of the situation.

"Who took her?" He asked taking everything in with a quite professionalism.

"I don't know!" Arthur said growing angry. Things were happening to slowly. Images of her body being dumped in a river, being cut with knives... worse. So many terrible things could be happening to her right now. He could do nothing to help her. Nothing to reach her.

"Arthur, I can't help you till you calm down. Now I need you to stop a moment and really concentrate. Is there a chance this could be COBAL?" Eames asked. Arthur said nothing as the seconds ticked by. "COBAL was after you and Cobb right? Saito fixed Cobb's charges for murder but not with COBAL right?"

"Why...why go after her?" Arthur's voice sounded tiny and sad over the line.  
>"Someone must have seen her with us." Eames reasoned. "We were not discrete about our coming's and going's at the warehouse." Arthur said nothing.<p>

His head hurt terribly and he couldn't take in any new information.

"Arthur? I want you to stay by the phone." Eames continued. "Get some sleep if you can, I'm leaving right now and making some calls. We will be in Paris before dinner." He stood up and went to his suitcase. "Your buying." he added.

Eames deftly dressed with one hand as he told his Teammate all this. His lady companion for the night slept on.

Arthur nodded and remained silent. He was strangely comforted by Eames. As much as they bickered and teased each other, Eames was sure of himself and his world. It felt good to talk to someone who knew what needed to be done and who could do it.

"Arthur?" Eames said softly "Talk to me mate."

"Yes." Arthur said sadly "I'll be here."

~From Japan, from America, from Brazil. Saito, Cobb and Eames converged on Paris. As painful as it was to leave his family Cobb never hesitated to jump on a plane. The Extractor had called Saito out of curiosity to see if he wanted to help or not.

Saito, attracted to the team and their work, was quick to join. Using his privet airline the team descended on the hotel Arthur was staying at.

"Arthur." Cobb said as the Point Man met them in the lobby. The men exchanged no pleasantries as Arthur filled them in on what he found in Paris.

"It's a good thing you decided to take a trip to the city of _love_ early" Eames said "If you had waited any longer, she may have been gone for good." Eames relaxed on a gaudy but trendy sofa that clashed horrifically with his off beat wardrobe.

"Dose the girl have any family?" Saito asked looking concerned. A look the Team was not used to seeing on the businessman. Arthur shook his head.

"She had a Grandfather but she always spoke of him in the past tense. She never said anything about her parents. She was living in Paris alone." Arthur said. The hours of worry were written on his face and he looked angry more then tired.

"The Police will notify her family. Let's not worry about them." Cobb said logically. "Our working theory is that COBAL is involved. Were have no reason to think it's anyone else. We have a team in Paris right now. They have an in with COBAL and there searching for any chatter about Ariadne."

"If it's correct that COBAL is involved," Saito said in his careful English. "Perhaps I can negotiate her release."

The Team looked at Saito in almost fearful surprise. The same look they gave him when he told them he bought an airline because it seemed "neater". Saito shrugged.

"There is no business in keeping a girl hostage when a settlement can be reached. If COBAL is seeking an expansion plan, I can give them one. If it will grant the girl's freedom, then my corporation can do without an 'it' product for the quarter." Saito smiled softly as he excused himself and took his cell phone out. Cobb nodded in amusement.

"Hopefully he can move the mountains he thinks he can." Cobb said. He looked the Point Man over. His normally neat and ordered appearance was disheveled and made Arthur look younger and almost frail. "Arthur, go clean up." Cobb said quietly. "We need you to be together on this."

Arthur nodded dumbly as his Team went to work on bringing the Architect back.

~The Architect felt vague hunger and she wondered how long she had been in this all to real Limbo. Her eyes were still covered and she felt tired and worn out from her ordeal. The sensory deprivation left her without any real feeling of time. It could have been a day in this place, it could have been a week. She tried to keep calm.

She slept fitfully. Always dreaming little dreams of her kidnapping. Soon enough, she felt her ability to control her dreams. The lucid dreaming bended itself to her will. She dreamed wonderful things.

~She dreamed they had spent the entire day in her neighborhood. Shopping at the local markets. Looking at the little shops and people watching. The sky was a bright blue as they stopped to by food to make dinner. They both were relaxed and happy. Arthur was out of his suit for once. He was dressed casual.

Arthur was in her apartment.

"Do you like the flowers?" She asked him. He was looking around her home as she put the canvas grocery bags on her small dinning room table. He gave her one of his rare smiles.

"Very nice." He said leaning over and kissing her neck. His light wet breath on her. She felt herself blush hard. Arthur looked happy as she unpacked the groceries.

He looked over her tiny little apartment. It's blue wallpaper. Its tiny kitchen. He examined her bookcase that divided her bedroom from the kitchen. He looked at all her books carefully..

While he did this, she started to cook their dinner.

"We can always go out." He reminded her. She shook her head.

"No, this is nice." She told him. He was by her side. Helping her to cook. They talked endlessly of literature and art. Arthur, showing those careful manners of his and fine appreciation for the arts. His intelligence was so refined. They ate a light dinner. Just enough to give them energy to make love.

Arthur's large hands were around her face. His tall frame had to stoop down to meet her lips. She rested her hands on his hips as she stood on tip toe.

They were in bed then. As easily as a dream. His warm body felt heavy and perfect over hers. She could bear his weight all night. His movements, eliciting primal responses from her. Her own body moving into the waking world.~

She found herself awake suddenly. Her dream had melted away. Her lover, the memory of his body with hers, gone. It was enough to make her cry at the loss.

She was back in this place. This real and awful place. She felt real fear envelop her. What were these men going to do to her? Rape her? Kill her? She had no idea where she even was. How could Arthur ever find her? She felt hours tick by.

She entertained herself with thoughts of Arthur and the Team mowing over her captures like so many disposable projections in a dream. It was a good fantasy. One which the Team made a graceful and unexplainable entrance. The Point Man, Forger and Extractor both made quick work of her captures.

Arthur would untie her, tell her he was taking her home. He gathered her small weary body in his strong arms and marched her proudly out of this place. She was safely wrapped in his body. He would tell her he would never let anyone hurt her. That of course he would come, nothing would stop him. These thoughts gave her comfort, but in the end, she was still alone, cold and terrified.

It seemed an age before she heard voices. They seemed to speak louder then normal. But that may just have been her time without any noise. Perhaps it had made sensitive to their voices. They were voices she did not know. But they spoke names she knew all to well.

"Cobb made the call." A gruff male voice said in a horribly low class accent. "He said to kill the girl and throw her body in the river. Cobb doesn't want any lose ends from the Fischer job."

Ariadne found herself breathing hard. It made no sense. They had spoken to Cobb? Cobb told them to kill her? She struggled against her ropes as every nightmare became real. She heard a door open and footsteps and hands took hold of her. She tried to fight but was to weak.

Her ties were cut, she found herself crying out but the voice didn't sound at all like her own. It sounded like the voice of someone who had given up. Who was to weak to cry out.

And then, it was over.


	3. Like so Many Projections

Like so many projections...

"_For sleep, one needs endless depths of blackness to sink into; _

_daylight is to shallow, it will not cover one." _

_Anne Morrow Lindberg_

~She was on the cold and dirty floor. A body was over her and the end was just a whisper away. Suddenly there were noises. Bangs, yelling and smoke. The body on hers jumped away and there were screams.

Unharmed, but stunned Ariadne curled into a ball. Her basic instinct telling her to make her body as small as she could. The voices were American. The easy drawl of a group of people afraid of nothing. They were all the voices of men. All authoritative and in control. There was gun fire.

"Clear!" someone shouted. Then someone came.

"Ariadne?" came a voice.

'It's happened.' she thought 'Arthur and the team had found me.'

"Arthur?" She croaked sadly. She felt sick and pitiful.

"Ariadne?" came the man's voice once more. The voice was not Arthur's or anyone she knew.

"Yes?" she said. Hands were on her again. Strong but gentle.

"Hold still. Were getting out of here." The voice said. Her bindings was cut and her blindfold removed. A dull light blinded her.

Who these men were she didn't know, but the man with the voice picked her up easily as she shielded her eyes from the light. It came to her that she was in a basement of some kind.

"We have an ambulance waiting outside." The man with the voice said. He held her close to his body and she somehow knew there were others in the room. They moved swiftly and made room for them as she was carried outside.

The fresh air felt like bliss. Her face felt dirty as the wind hit it. She managed to open her eyes and see that it was night. There were police cars and an ambulance waiting for her. The man carrying her put her down gently on a stretcher as if she were a child he didn't want to wake up.

The light from the ambulance was to bright. But the paramedic was kind and soft with her hands as she assessed Ariadne's body. She spoke in an elegant French accent.

"Fermer votre Dove petit eil, votre coffre-frort maintenant." (Close your eyes little Dove, your safe now)

Ariadne did as she was told and the kind woman started her IV. She could feel herself start to relax. She had a vague wish to ask about Arthur. The drugs put into her veins made her feel like that could wait. Soon she cared about nothing at all.

~Surely, it had been just a dream. Her kidnappers were taken out just like projections. She was safe. She felt comfortable in a clean bed. Her body felt good and there was noise outside that sounded like a hospital.

"Hello?" came a crisp American voice. It was a woman's voice. Ariadne opened her eyes to see she was in a privet hospital room. A middle aged woman, plump and pleasant looking was sitting next to her with a smile.

"Ariadne?" she asked. Her voice bright and concerned at the same time.

"Yes?" Ariadne said softly. Her voice hurt and she winced in pain. The plump little American sensed her need and filled a cup with water and gave it to her. Ariadne drank it down quickly and the lady kept bringing her more water. She looked at Ariadne as though she were a favorite child of hers.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk. My name is Agnes. I was brought in from the states to be your privet nurse."

Ariadne didn't say anything. She had hundreds of questions but her mind couldn't come together to pull one out. The nurse seemed untroubled by her patients lack of communication.

"My Dear, you were kidnapped from your home a week ago." The American Nurse said brushing back the Architect's hair. "A tactical unit, hired by a privet firm, got you out yesterday." The nurse leaned in close to the Architect and said gently, as if she were talking to a child who would not understand. "The hospital did an SAE and they said it was negative. They didn't hurt you like that."

Ariadne nodded and couldn't help the tears coming out. The American nurse sat on the edge of the bed and held her close to her warm soft body. The Architect cried. For relief, for anger, for no reason at all. The American Nurse held her and made soft comforting noises. After Ariadne cried herself out, the nurse gently brushed her hair. The action made the Architect feel like a little girl being comforted by a loving mother. She allowed the nurse to baby her, and asked no questions.

~"It's been two weeks!" Arthur fumed. Nothing made him content theses days. The Team had regrouped in Paris at the same warehouse they used to prepare for the Fischer inception.

Saito had passionately and valiantly argued with COBAL over Ariadne. He promised them the world, he threatened all out war. He said COBAL, was not willing to work with him.

Arthur could not accept this.

"I know." Eames said softly. He was willing to be the outlet of Arthur's rage.

Cobb had gone home to his children. He felt the absence of them sharply and could bare it no longer. He still worked from home and pulled in favors from everyone he could to find the Architect.

Miles had come back to Paris, and acted as Ariadne's next of kin. The police had no leads. It was as if she vanished.

Arthur thought constantly of the Greek myths. Of Hades opening up the ground and swallowing Persephone up. A beautiful, innocent maiden vanished like she never existed at all.

Eames looked at his feet with sad eyes.

"Arthur." He said softly. "We may need to prepare ourselves." Arthur stopped his pacing and glared at the Forger. "We need to prepare ourselves... that this may not end well." Eames looked up at his friend. For two weeks he had taken Arthur's abuse. Listened to rages not meant for him but listened to them none the less. Arthur shook his head.

"It's our fault." The Point Man said softly. "Its our fault this happened to her." He shouldered on his jacket for lack of anything better to do.

"When Cobb brought her in, he said 'don't worry, she wont go into the field with us'. When she came into the field, he said not to worry that she will be with him the whole time. He took her to limbo and she almost didn't make it out. Her life was fine until we showed up. _We_ put her in danger. COBAL or whoever, is trying to hurt _us_." Arthur concluded before slamming the door on his way out.

Outside, on the streets of Paris, Arthur hailed a cab. The action made him remember the few times he had chivalrously seen her home..

~It was raining, night had fallen. Cobb was still obtaining their chemist and Eames. He and the new Architect had started their work on building mazes and dreaming, together.

"Arthur, this isn't necessary." She said as the cab carefully maneuvered the crowded city streets. The heavens has opened up and a hard downpour was pounding over the city. The Architect and Point Man were safely tucked away from the foul weather inside the cab.

"I'm not letting you walk home in the rain." The Point Man said.

The driver informed them, in broken English, that the street to her neighborhood was blocked off. The Point Man told him it was alright. He could take the long way. The Architect hid a smile behind her hand.

"What?" Arthur asked a smile creeping over his own face. She shook her head.

"Your French... it's..." She smiled again. Her eyes bright. He had to laugh at himself.

"I know." He conceded.

They rode in silence for a while. They watched the city practically glitter as their lights reflected off the wet streets. It felt as if they were cut off from the outside world. Hidden away in the tiny euro cab.

The driver hit a pot hole and the cab bounced it's passengers rudely. Ariadne was almost thrown into Arthur's lap as a series of horns honked after them. The driver said something impolite in French and Arthur found he was holding her hand as she looked worriedly out the window.

The Architect relaxed somewhat as the cab took them to a less trafficked street. Arthur wondered if she still knew her hand was in his. She looked tried. She sighed as she leaned back in her seat.

Her head starting to rest on his shoulder.

Her head was resting on his shoulder.

Her eyes were still looking hypnotized out the window. The driver was really taking the long way. She was asleep when the driver pulled up to her building. Arthur hated to rouse her. He would have gladly paid the fair for them to be driven all over Paris for the night. The moment had been so perfect.

"Were here." He whispered gently. She came awake then and looked around her, startled to find she had nodded off in the cab.

"Oh." She said sleepily.  
>"Do you want me to walk you up?" He asked preparing to leave to safety of the cab to escort her through the rain.<p>

"No." She laughed. "I've lived on my own for a long time." She said grabbing her purse and jacket. "I'll be fine. Thanks for the ride."

"It was on my way." He shrugged. He made the driver wait until he saw her unlock the front door to her building. She waved at him. He still made the driver wait. When a light went on on the second floor, he relaxed.  
>"We can go now." he told the driver. Back in the opposite direction from where they started. He left the driver a generous tip for taking such a securitas route.~<p>

Now in the back of a cab alone. He thought of that memory. Could almost feel her next to him. Smell her gentle subtle perfume. He looked to his left. Almost expecting to see her. But naturally, she was gone.


	4. Lost

Lost

"_Question reality, _

_Especially if it contradicts the evidence of your hopes and dreams."_

_Robert Brault_

~"Was Saito the privet firm that got me out?" Ariadne asked the Nurse. The American Nurse looked confused.

"I don't know anyone by that name." She said softly.

She was helping Ariadne dress herself. After two days in the hospital Ariadne finally found herself able to put only some thoughts together.

She still did not feel like herself. Her mind seemed slower somehow. Her usual temper felt stunted. The American Nurse had said it was the drugs she had to take for anxiety and they would pass. She still found it hard to hold thoughts in her mind.

They slipped away like a half remembered dream.

"Well, then who got my out of that basement?" the Architect asked

"A firm called COBAL engineering" came a familiar male voice.  
>"Sir!" said the American Nurse. "You have to leave! This is a privet room!" Ariadne turned to look at the tall lean man that came into her room.<p>

"I know you." She said slowly as he approached her. She was trying to remember. "You were the one who found me."

"Yes, me and my Team." The man with the voice said with an easy smile. "I was the one who carried you to the ambulance." He smiled and chuckled. "It wasn't hard."

The man with the voice had a nice face with dark hair and warm brown eyes. Handsome. Rugged. Like all the men in her life recently, he was extremely well dressed and professional. He looked like the kind of man people couldn't help but like.

"My name is Jim." He said shaking her hand. "I'm really glad to see you looking better."

Ariadne shook his hand but found her brain was searching. She remembered Cobb and Arthur talking about COBAL. They spoke that name in reverent whispers. As if COBAL were a projection. One they feared no maze would hide them from.

"COBAL? How did COBAL find me?" She asked. Jim turned to the nurse

"Can we have a minute?" He asked. Agnes looked at Ariadne and the Architect nodded. Once they were alone The pair sat at the little table in her privet hospital room.

"I work with a very _special_ Team." Jim began. "It's hard to explain to someone that doesn't understand. But it will be easy, for _you_ to understand." He said.

Ariadne shook her head. Jim smiled.

"I work as an extractor." He said plainly. "I know you know what that is."

Ariadne looked out the window then. Not willing to meet Jim in the eye. The Extractor shrugged and pulled out a briefcase. He shuffled some papers out.

"My work is primarily to catch _illegal_ extraction. Corporate espionage, political influence. All games that can turn the world the hell." He continued undeterred.

He looked up at the Architect and smiled but she continued to stare out the window. Cobb and Arthur had trained her for this. Trained her in what to say.

"I don't understand. I'm a student. I don't even work. I don't know anything about any corporations." She said softly.

Arthur had told her (gently) that if she were ever interrogated by anyone about extraction or inception to pretend to be a "stupid" with no interest in business or anything other then clothes and whatever else regular women cared about.

"Ariadne, I know Cobb and his Team trained you to build their dreams. Mr. Cobb was a very talented architect once. After he killed his wife he bounced around the world taking in odd jobs. He got together with this gentleman here." Jim pulled out a photograph and slid it over to her.

It was a candid shot of Arthur at an airport. The Point Man looked angry. A normal look for him when around the rest of the Team. Never around her.

"Arthur worked for the good guys once. He was in the military for years. How he learned about dream sharing. It became more profitable for him to engage in corporate espionage rather then serve his country." Jim said sadly.

"Ariadne, I know they trained you and used you. I also know that they were responsible for your kidnapping. That Cobb hired men to take you, to hold you and then he gave those men orders to kill you. He did this so you would be silenced. So that you wouldn't blackmail them or their clients." Jim finished trying to catch her eye.

"I don't know anyone named Cobb. I'm sorry" She said softly. Jim nodded.

"I know they trained you to say this. To protect _them_." He pulled out another photograph.

This one was also candid. It showed her and Arthur walking out of the warehouse. It was taken when she had first started to work with the team. Arthur was holding the door of a cab for her. His eyes on her and a light smile. She remembered that day so well.

It had been raining outside. The streets of Paris were crowded and beautiful. The driver had taken the long way to reach her building. It had been so cozy in that cab, next to Arthur's warm body. She had even nodded off.

"Did you think you were the only Architect Cobb enlisted? Did you think you were the first girl Arthur seduced?" Jim asked.

Suddenly Ariadne looked up at him. He was no longer handsome and kind. He had intruded on something sacred. "He uses those careful manners of his to gain the trust of many girls."

"Leave." She said

"Dose he still dress nicely?" Jim asked

"_Get out_!" Ariadne said sharply. Agnes was suddenly there.

"Sir, you need to leave now!" She said in a huff. Her tone was clear and in charge. Jim sighed and closed his briefcase.

"All right." He said. "I'll go. I'm sorry about what they put you through." He said sincerely. Jim was almost to the door when he turned around.

"I have to ask, did Cobb tell you he had children? That he had to do this 'job' to get back to his children?" Ariadne looked at him with a fire in her eyes. "Hmm." Jim mused "Cobb and his wife were childless."

"Leave sir." The American Nurse said. Jim finally left and the Nurse was quick to close the door. "Dear, you don't ever have to speak to that man again." she said gently brushing back Ariadne's hair. The Architect looked at the photographs Jim had left behind.

'Can't be true.' she thought looking at Arthur. They way Arthur acted with her. Cobb's need to go home. They all felt real.

Eames's friendship seemed real to.

"I need a phone." She said softly. The American Nurse smiled at her with affection and said.

"Of course Dear."

~Arthur and Cobb didn't give her any contact numbers. Miles number got no pick up. She even tried to call Japan. Saito knew who she was. But the process was confusing. Saito was not easy to reach, even with the right contacts.

The American Nurse was helpful. She wanted to find someone to help the Architect. Ariadne thought briefly about calling some classmates. But the nagging fear that she might put them in danger gave her pause. She also worried about how she would explain the situation to them. She had spent the past few months engrossed in the dream building, with almost no contact except the Team.

At night, she dreamed.

The American Nurse told her it was the anxiety medication that caused them. They were dreams of Arthur. Of her and Arthur talking, laughing at Eames's clothes. Of Eames's accusing her of being in love with him. Of Ariadne laughing. Then Arthur would take a phone call and Cobb would be on the other end, telling the Point Man to kill the Architect.

She dreamed Arthur changed suddenly. That he used his strong body to choke her, to kill her. To have no pity over her. She dreamed of Eames saying,

'We'll need a new Architect mates.' She always woke up safe in the hospital bed with the American Nurse close by.

~The day of her release came by and with it a lawyer. He was a nice looking older man. He had flown in from New York.  
>"I'm your attorney." He said politely. "I'm here to represent you regarding your actions during the illegal drugging and dream manipulation of one, Robert Fischer."<p>

"I don't know what you mean." She said. She looked at the American Nurse for help. She was sitting at the table with her.

"Just listen to him, Dear. He is here to help you." She said tucking a stray lock of hair under her ear.

"Now, I don't want you to say anything to anyone but me, understand?" The Lawyer said plainly. "Truth is, the French Government have been collecting evidence on Mr. Cobb and his Team ever since they came to Paris. They bugged the warehouse, watched all of you. We know what happened. We have enough to put all of them in prison forever. When we catch them"

The Lawyer sighed softly and folded his hands together.

"It's over for them Ariadne. As soon as we catch them, and we will, they will be in prison for the rest of there lives. But the French government doesn't know what to do with you. You are just as liable as the rest of the team. But unlike them, you have never done dream extraction or inception. You have no criminal record and we think we can get a pardon for you if..." He trailed off and looked at his hands.

"_If_?" Ariadne asked. Real fear of what was going to become of her spread over her body.

"The government would like to use your talents to work for them. Specifically, in the same unit that helped to find you. They want you to design dreams to catch theses illegal extractors and put them away. This is the only way we can grant you your freedom." The lawyer said softly.

"I'm here to look after you best interest. This is the deal. _Take this deal_." he said with compassion.

Ariadne felt her eyes well up. The gravity of what these people were saying was very heavy. The Lawyer sighed. "You can say no. Keep quite like Cobb told you to. Like the men who payed thugs to kill you told you to. You can do all of that right into a prison cell. For life."

Tears landed on Ariadne's hands.


	5. The Next Level

The Next Level

"_There are twelve hours in the day, and about fifty in the night."_

_Rabutun- Chantal_

~The work with Jim and his Team was very much like the work with Cobb. Jim had a good report with their own Point Man and Forger.

The Point Man, Fedor, was Russian and was nothing but professional. He didn't like working with Ariadne because she was a woman and said so often. But he was impressed enough by her talents in building.

The Forger was Australian and rarely said anything to anyone. Braker, was a little older then Ariadne. Like Jim he was handsome, but lacked the same style of dress her first Team possessed. He was the type to work better in jeans and T-shirt. Braker, like the Russian Point Man, kept their distance from the Architect.

Ariadne didn't mind. She was always lost in her own thoughts. Her own memories.

~ "It's like something from Escher." She had said as she and Arthur carefully exited the penrose steps. The Point Man was teaching her the basic's of paradoxes that were only achieved in the dream world. Arthur had smiled and nodded.

"Exactly." He said. "So a closed loop like that will help you disguise the boundaries of the dream you create." He said as they returned to the ground floor. They talked briefly of Cobb and she had learned about his late wife. She had been surprised that she had died. Mal had seemed a fearsome thing. She had her doubts when Arthur had said she had been 'lovely'.

"How long have you and Cobb worked together?" Ariadne asked. Arthur sighed deeply.

"About five years now. We meet through Miles. I was working in the military. Training soldiers. Cobb's work was more interesting. He and Mal were... brilliant together. They designed amazing dreams."

Ariadne nodded. She wondered if she could ever hope to compare to the Shade as far as skill in the dreams. It was just so much she had to learn. Arthur seemed to sense her thoughts.

"Don't worry." He said "You'll get it. Cobb said he never saw anyone pick it up as quickly as you did." She smiled.

"How do I make a paradox?" She asked. He smiled and nodded.

"The trick is to trap the projections, not the dreamer." He started.

Arthur's teaching were easy. He used his skills for training soldiers to teach her. He never grew tired of her questions, and ravenous curiosity. His smile getting wider as she grasped the dream world and all it's complexities.

He was so kind to her. He spoke to her so gently. How could that just be an act? ~

~ No one on her new Team talked about the lives they lived outside their new work. Ariadne went through the motions of designing mazes and taking the dreamer, always Jim, through each level. But her heart was not in the work.

Before, she had been eager to explore the dream world with Arthur and the Team.

During the day, she worked on her mazes. At night she returned to her new apartment. It was still in Paris and much larger and nicer then her old place. The American Nurse stayed with her. She would cook and keep her company. It had been 3 months since she last saw Arthur or the Team.

She felt every second of that time.

She was under strict house arrest except for when the Team arrived in her building and used an empty apartment there for their work.

On her off time she slept and dreamed the same old nightmare. Arthur, the same as he always was. Then the phone call. The attack. Her death. She woke in a sweat and would stare out her window for hours at the streets and buildings below.

She imagined she was lost in Limbo and entertained thoughts that perhaps, she _never_ left Limbo and this was all still a dream. That she would wake up on that plane arriving in L.A. That she would let Arthur into her hotel room. That was a reality she visioned for herself.

She had lost her totem after the kidnapping. After staring out at the city for hours those nights she had the nightmares, she thought about what it would take to wake herself up. That this world was not real. There was only one escape.

~"That's her right?" Said the shifty Mole Man.

Arthur, Cobb, Eames and Saito crowed around a grainy black photograph that was unmistakably their Architect.

"That's her." Arthur said loudly. "She's been in Paris this whole time?" The Mole Man backed away from the Point Man's anger.

"No! Not the _whole_ time. We only found her because we were looking for someone else." The Mole Man explained hurriedly.

"It just so happens, that there is an Australian Forger that was taken almost 6 months ago. His Team hired some people to find him. They found him and your lady Architect as well. We have been staked out at the building across from her for a month now. She almost always sits by the window after the end of her... treatments."

"What _treatments_!" Arthur barked.

Cobb pulled another grainy photo lose and his scowl grew deeper. It showed a plump nurse hooking up the sleeping Architect to a PASIV device.

"Why are they doing this?" Saito asked.

"To control her." Cobb said

"Bloody Hell, their doing a little inception of their own." Eames added "And with _our_ girl."

"At least we know she's alive." Cobb said.

"Right, so lets go in." Arthur said recklessly. The Point Man had spent the past few months filled with worry. It was making his careful planning sloppy.

"We have to be careful about this, Arthur." Cobb said softly. "We need to find out who these people are and why their doing this."

"I thought that was pretty obvious." Eames said with a snort. "Their assembling there own Extraction Team. They need there own Team who can extract information and is loyal. They kidnapped Ariadne because she was trained by the best and she is very good at building the dreams. I can assume the Australian Forger is top of his game as well?"

"His people are paying a good reward to get him back, so I can imagine so." The Mole Man said shuffling his photos into his ratty back pack.

~"Were going after Cobb." Jim said one night over dinner. Ariadne looked up in amazement. "You found them?" she asked. A spark of curiosity flashed in her eyes. Jim nodded.

"Yes, we believe he and the Team have a new Architect and their in Paris. They mean to extract information from a rival oil and engineering firm." He said simply.

She nodded and felt a slight pain at the thought of a new Architect. She wondered if the new Team member was a woman. If Arthur liked her. She pushed those thoughts away.

Since the kidnapping, her mind worked slower. The American Nurse told her the work would bring her mind back to normal after a while, but Ariadne found it hard to grasp new ideas. The thought that she would help catch her old Team felt awful. It felt like a cold stone was embedded in her and twisting.

"All right" She said sadly.

~"You know we don't belong here, Gorgeous." The Australian Forger told her. They were all in the dream built by Ariadne and dreamed by Jim.

There dream was a fun house of paradoxes and mazes designed so no one could get out. Jim assured them it was they only way to elude Arthur's Team. He rarely gave them any time alone together to speak in private.

He was distracted at the moment by the Russian Point Man. Ariadne had the feeling this convenient diversion was all planed just for her. The Australian Forger was casual enough in his body language. Someone out of ear shot would never know they were talking.

Braker was always relaxed and seemed to be a full member of her new Team.

"Don't believe anything Jim or that Nurse of yours tell you." He whispered. "They work for COBAL engineering. COBAL was the one who kidnapped you. Not your own people." Ariadne stared at Jim and Fedor. Her heart starting to race. Her expression, blank.

"The American Nurse is a Chemist." Braker continued. "She has been hooking you up to a PASIV device each night. You've been dreaming right? Same old nightmare?" She nodded.

"They lie to you. My Team, and Fedor's are working right now to get all of us out. We need you to create a paradox to trap Jim. He is always the dreamer. He doesn't trust us to control the dream."

Ariadne said nothing. She looked ahead and remained motionless.

"Tell me you understand, Gorgeous ." Braker said softly.

"I understand." She said sadly. The Australian Forger nodded and sighed.

"Don't lose yourself. Stay focused on your life before. On the people in your life. Don't trust the dreams you have here. Don't eat any food or drinks the nurse give you" He added before walking away.

~"Cobb, we need to consider that when we get our girl out she may be very seriously affected by the dreams she was forced to have." Eames said.

Arthur stopped his research on the computer and turned around to look at the Forger.

"Who knows what she has been manipulated into believing? We need to be prepared." Eames added. The Team had all gathered in a new warehouse in Paris to plan Ariadne's rescue.

The Australian Forger's Team was flying in but would not land for a few hours. Yuseff had just arrived in France.

"Well, if I wanted to keep someone under control I would use a mixture of a latent relaxant and a drug very similar to LSD. It makes the subject feel very helpless and they tend to believe anything you tell them. Enough of that everyday, you would try to fly if I told you that you could." Yuseff said. "The problem is, that it takes a long time to leave the body and it can cause permanent madness. The subject has difficulty telling reality from what the drugs made them believe."

"Right, so when we get to our girl..." Eames started

"She might be so confused she runs from us." Cobb finished

"Also there is the detox to think about." Yuseff said

"I have staff on call at a privet hospital in Japan." Saito said "A Doctor Yori there is highly recommended in working with victims of these dream manipulations."

"So after we leave here, we make a 13 hour flight to Japan?" Arthur asked. "What if she needs medical attention right away?" He asked, ever the pessimist.

"We can't give her anything to calm her because it will only increase the hold of the mixture." Yuseff said sadly.

"We just have to help her with detox the hard way Darlings" Eames sighed.


	6. To Take a Leap of Faith

To Take a Leap of Faith

"_All men whilst they are awake are in one common world: _

_But each of them, when he is asleep, is in a world of his own."_

_Plutarch_

~It almost felt like expectancy. Ariadne flushed her dinner the American Nurse gave her in the toilet and felt remarkably recharged. The Australian Forger had been right. There had to be something she was being given.

She fell asleep with ease, but slept lightly because she woke up when the American Nurse came in with a silver briefcase. She knew she was being taken into a dream and pretended to be asleep while the American Nurse, with suddenly rough strong hands jerked her arm out and hooked her up.

Suddenly she was in the dream. Her mind was sharper now. She remembered her training with Arthur. She was the Subject. Which means her mind populated the dream space.

She was in the warehouse again. Arthur and Eames were there. They were laughing. Yuseff and Cobb were in the other room. But things were different. She willed Arthur and Eames to look at her and they stopped what they were doing and did.

'Who is the Dreamer?' she asked them in her mind. The men looked from her to her projection of Cobb. His back was turned and it came on her. The American Nurse was also a Forger like Eames and the Australian.

She had assumed Cobb's appearance to make sure the Architect dreamed the same each night. Her own fears about Arthur and the Team caused her projections to kill her each night. She looked back at Arthur and Eames. She decided her best recourse was to not allow the American Nurse to know that she was onto her. Ariadne stood.

"No!" She screamed and ran out of the warehouse. "Your not going to kill me!" She shouted melodramatically over her shoulder. She feared she had over acted, surely no one would fall for that. But when her dream timed out and she woke up, the American Nurse was there and seemed very pleased.

"Not another nightmare, Dear?" She asked. Ariadne tried to remain calm. To give nothing away.

"Yes, those people who tried to hurt me. Cobb and the rest." She said rubbing her head in mock fear. "But I ran away from them. It took so long for me to believe what they had done. I feel so stupid for not seeing it before." The American Nurse went away very happy.

Ariadne took Braker's advise and tried to stay focused on her life before. On the people she trusted. Hopefully they would get her out. Her mind was returning to her. Memories of the mission, memories of Arthur.

~They were in the hotel one the second level. Cobb's "Mr. Charles" Gambit had put her and Arthur in real danger from Fischer's projections. The well tailored men and women kept looking at them. Arthur and Ariadne had abandoned the lobby where they watched Cobb bring Fischer's attention to the strangeness of the dream. Arthur's gait was strong and sure. His pace so fast Ariadne had trouble keeping up with him.

The Point Man's large hand took hold of hers and pulled her towards him away from the encroaching projections. The two of them vanished down a stairwell paradox.

"What if they reach us while were asleep and in the third level?" She asked as they hid in the shadows. A projection of a man in a suit walked past them.

Not seeing them.

"I wont let that happen." He whispered back. His large body concealing hers.

Suddenly the floor shifted. As Yuseff's erratic driving made the dream world turn and lean dangerously. Arthur's arms were around her waist, keeping her close to him.

"Careful." He whispered in her ear as he kept her from falling off the stairwell into the paradox. The sharp movements of the van making traversing the hotel difficult.

Arthur seemed to have no trouble maneuvering around the shifting floor. Ariadne was starting to feel almost sea sick.

"How can you do this? The dream is so unstable." She finally asked as he took hold of her hand. Strongly but gently pulling her away from more projections. He smiled. His eyes bright.

"You get used to it." He said.

Suddenly, a projection was in front of them. Ariadne didn't have time to scream before Arthur's quick and graceful movements floored the projection. The large beefy man soon lay unconscious on the floor. Arthur's large hands were over hers again.

"Stay close." He said.

She did as she was told. Trusting him completely.

She held these memories close as Jim called his stolen Team into the dream one last time.

~Down in the dream Jim had her build, Ariadne felt stronger.

She devised a way to trap her capture. Trap him inside his own dream.

'_The trick is to trap the projections not the dreamer'_.

Arthur had told her this.

She could almost hear his voice in the remembering. She would do the opposite. She planed it carefully. The Forger and Point Man had gotten very good at tag teaming Jim to keep his distracted. She even found herself playing a role in it so the Australian and Russian could talk alone.

She _felt_ that her people were close. That at any time they would come.

~"Bloody Hell" Eames gasped. Inside the building the Mole Man had been watching, was a maze of beige walls meant to confuse intruders. The Mole Man and the Australian Team had helped them break into the building and fend off the guards before they found the work shop. Ariadne, Jim, the Australian Forger and the Russian Point Man were all under. Hooked up to a complicated PASIV machine.

"Shhh" Arthur hissed and he and the Australian Point Man disappeared. Cobb and the rest of the Team stood silent, out in the open when there was screaming. Arthur and the Australian Point Man had the American Nurse and her weapon secured.

"What kind of sedation were they given?" Cobb asked kneeling down to met her face. The American Nurse said nothing but looked violently angry.  
>"Looks like a basic mixture." Yuseff said looking over the PASIV device. I've never seen one this intense. It can administer per-arranged mixtures without pulling them out. Keeps them in the dream much longer."<p>

"Pull them all out." Arthur ordered.

The Australian Extractor was pushing his sleeping Team mate out of his chair. Attempting to "kick" him out.

"He won't wake up that way." Yuseff said "I can't bring them out. Its a preset mixture. If we pull them out before the mixture releases them, their brains will fry. The dream has to collapse, or they have to _chose_ to come out."

"Only one escape." Eames chimed in.

"We have to go in." The Australian Extractor said in a huff. "Convince them to come out."

"Right. Once more unto the Breach, dear friends." Eames said taking the IV from Yuseff. Arthur, Eames and Cobb took nearby chairs as they hooked themselves up.

"You don't have much time Mate." The Australian Point Man said. "Security will be on us in less then 15 minutes. Its get them out by then, or not at all."

"Give us as much time as you can." Cobb said before his world slipped away.

~More complex then anything in any dream they had shared before, the fun house showed the true range of Ariadne's skill as an Architect.

"Our girl built all this?" Eames sighed. "We don't pay her enough." He looked at the ceiling where a stair well ran upside down and projections walked across it defying the basic law of gravity.

~Ariadne and her fellow hostages _felt_ Cobb's Team as soon as they cam into the dream.

"Someone else is here." Jim said sensing them as well.

"I'll go check it out." he Russian Point Man said seeming ever loyal to Jim. The Russian vanished behind a moving glass wall. The Australian Forger gave The Architect a knowing nod and Ariadne knew the time had come.

She walked away from them.

"Hey!" Jim called to her as she quickly escaped up a stair well that ran up the wall then across it.

Like Alice chasing the White Rabbit into Wonderland, Jim followed her into the trap she designed and he dreamed.

~The Russian appeared out of the wall to Cobb and his Team. Arthur and Eames pointed their weapons at him, but the Russian Point Man remained calm.

"Hold you fire. My name is Fedor." The Russian said to Cobb. "Did my people send you?" He asked.

"No, were here for a girl named Ariadne and an a man named Braker." Cobb said. "Where is she?"

"Da, the American Woman... and The Australian. She and Braker are with the Pig. But you need to wait here." The Russian said.

"No, well follow you."Arthur said curtly

"No." The Russian said even more harshly. "Your _Lady_ Architect designed this to be a maze to trap you forever. It's to dangerous if you don't know the way. I'll bring her to you." He walked off and a staircase moved from the floor below to seal the team off from the Russian.

"The Pig?" Eames said in almost a laugh.

~Jim followed Ariadne into a massive room and suddenly felt different. He felt like he was standing on his head and blood was rushing to his brain. He looked up and realized her was standing on the ceiling. The Architect was standing on what would normally be the ground and looking up at him.

"Paradox." She said softly.

"Impressive." He said "How do I get down?" He asked.

"You don't" she said more boldly. "My people have come for me and I'm leaving. Your the dreamer so the dream will still exist when we leave. But that nifty little PASIV device you built will keep you here forever."

"Nice try sweetheart." Jim growled. "All I have to do is kill myself, and I wake up."

"Try it." Ariadne challenged. Jim walked to what appeared to be a ledge but melted into a door that took him further away form the Architect. She sighed and stood up. "You wanted a maze to catch the best. I think I caught you a little _to_ easy."

She turned around and left the changing room while Jim howled with rage. The door sealed shut and Jim was trapped.

~"Braker!" She shouted catching sight of the Australian Forger. She had almost lost herself in her own maze and was out of breath.

"Is it done?" He asked taking hold her her. She nodded when Fedor walked in from a set of stairs running upside down.

"Our rescue is here." The Russian said. "Time to go."

The three of them ran through the maze. The Architect had to stop them at several points to wait for the right staircase to move into position. It seemed to take ages. Finally, they arrived at the entrance and when she laid eyes on her old team, Ariadne screamed.

~"It's alright!" Arthur said trying to reach for her, but the Architect cowered behind the Australian Forger. The sudden appearance of the men who killed her in her dreams each night frightened her with their suddenly being real and before her.

"We need to get out." Braker shouted, allowing Ariadne to hide behind him.

"Right." Cobb said turning to the door they cam out of.

"Not that way." The Russian said. "We have only one way out." The Russian lead them past moving walls and stair wells that led to nowhere.

Arthur tried to take hold of Ariadne but the Architect stayed close to the Australian. The colors of the dream were all the same and had no reference points or landmarks to tell them where to go. The Russian had to stop often and ask the Architect fro directions.

"Time is an issue kiddies." Eames said looking around at the confusing layout.

"It was designed to be not just a maze but a trap." Braker told them, his arm around the Architect.

"This way!" The Russian shouted and led them from the relative comfort of the maze to an impossibly high cliff. Its bottom was black and seemed to fall forever.

"The kick." Cobb breathed. "He turned to his Point Man "Arthur you take Ariadne. Eames and I will take the rest."

"What?" The Architect stammered as Arthur put his arms around her. "You _are_trying to kill me! You sent those men to kidnap me and kill me!" She screamed.

Hot tears burned in her eyes as fear pounded through her body. She tried to brake away from Arthur's arms.

"No!" He shouted taking her face in his large hands and looking her in the eye. "Were going to leave. Were going to wake up and go home." She met his eye and tried to believe him.

"You know what's real. This world is _not real_. We have wake up." He said.

Her tears fell onto his hands as she nodded. Arthur let go of her face and took her hands. The two of them walked off the cliff.


	7. Dream Collapsing

Dream Collapsing

"_Reality is wrong, Dreams are for real."_

_Tupac Shakur_

~The fall was so high and jarring, it bolted them both out quickly. They awoke out of the dream to the Australian team giving them worried looks. Cobb and Braker quickly woke as did Eames and the Russian.

"Time to go." The Australian Extractor said as they helped Braker to stand. Arthur put an arm under Ariadne as the moment she stood her world started to spin.

"It's the compound." Yuseff told them, it will wear off soon."

Cobb and Eames held onto Fedor as his heavy body required more support.

"I don't know the way out." Ariadne said sadly.

"Don't worry Darling." Eames said with a smile. "We do." Ariadne looked over her shoulder at Jim still asleep and taped in the dream.

"What are you doing?" Cobb asked as Yuseff unhooked Jim from the PASIV.

"We can't let COBAL keep this technology." He said wrapping up the device and holding it close to his body.  
>"It will wake Jim up." Ariadne said sadly.<p>

"No," Arthur said "He's gone."

~The two teams lead their precious cargo up to the roof of the building where a large helicopter was just landing.  
>"Saito and his pension for <em>neatness<em>." Eames said with a laugh. Saito opened the passenger door and waved them in.

Everything seemed frightfully sharp and real to Ariadne as Arthur helped her to take a seat and buckled her in.  
>"Hey, look at me." He ordered. She met him in the eye as he said. "Were out."<p>

She trusted him.

~The 13 hour flight to Japan was grueling. Ariadne and her fellow captives had begun to sweat and shake with the sudden withdrawal from the drugs they had been given. The drugs were in the food and they had to eat something during the months they were being held.

She had started having thoughts of jumping from the chopper to wake up and felt frightened of Cobb and Arthur sitting beside her. Arthur tried to give her some comfort but her agitation only grew.

The lights of Tokyo were bursting in the sky making night into day as the chopper landed. A medical staff dressed all in white with their faces covered were waiting. Arthur helped her lay on the stretcher. She saw only the ceiling as she was wheeled inside.

~The hospital was bright and everyone spoke in quick tongues. It took her a long time to finally realize they were not speaking English. Then a woman in a lab coat was standing over her and talking softly to her. Asking if she knew where she was. She had to wake up.

'None of this was real.' She told her self.

Only one escape.

~Doctor Yori met the men in the small waiting room.

"She has been _heavily_ medicated with a mixture designed to not only make her believe anything someone told her but to subdue her as well. It's very dangerous. We think we can help her. She was not exposed as long as the Russian." Yori said

"What's going to happen to Fedor?" Eames asked. Yori shook her head.

"I am afraid he was exposed to the compound for too long. He is no longer sure what is real and what is not. He has a very high chance of... trying to wake himself up." She explained sadly.

"You mean he is going to try to kill himself?" Cobb asked, although he already knew the answer.

"What about Ariadne?" Arthur asked. The Point Man was feeling his blood run cold.

"She is more likely then the others to come back. She was told by her captures that you hired people to kidnap and kill her. That this was what happened to your last architect." Yori explained. "With the drugs, it was easy to believe this lie." Yori politely excused herself and she and Saito conferred outside the hall.

Arthur felt his blood turn even colder as he sat down. How could Ariadne believe such a thing? His mind swam over their time together. Surely, surely she had to have known they cared about her. Not just himself, but the entire Team. The Point Man felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Cobb.

"We should go to the hotel, we can't do anymore here." Cobb said gently after a long repose. "The Australian Team is with Braker and we can take shifts with Ariadne."

"Doctor!" came a nurse and Yori hurried into Ariadne's room.

The Team quickly followed her to find Ariadne awake and screaming for help. She was sweating profusely and her eyes were sunken in, giving her face a sickly look. She was in a rage as the nurses tried to subdue her.

"No!" She screamed. She tried to kick them away, fighting demons only she could see. Her gaze suddenly fell on Arthur and the others. Her haunted eyes grew wide at the sight of them. She screamed louder.  
>"No! Help me! Their going to kill me!" She looked to the nursing staff to help her as Doctor Yori called out.<p>

"Get the restraints!"

At this a nurse ushered the men out of the room and shut the door.

Ariadne suddenly screamed as the staff put restraints on her arms and legs to keep her from hurting herself.

From the hallway the men could here her pitiful scream for help. She cried for Arthur to help her.

"Arthur! Please, Don't let them do this! Arthur! Don't! Arthur! It's not real! Please Arthur! Please help me!" She screamed. Her cries echoing through the hall.

Cobb and Eames had to physically keep the Point Man from going back into her room. It seemed as brutal for them to listen as it was for her experience.

~ Days passed. The Team stayed at a nearby hotel. They went to see Ariadne everyday but she was usually asleep. Her face looking drawn and tired. When she was awake, she looked right through them.

Yori recommended that they stay away from her hospital room. That the Architect was experiencing a terrible withdrawal from the drugs. Soon enough, they would try to bring her back to reality.

Cobb, realizing there was nothing more he could do to help Ariadne, made a brief trip home to check on his children. Eames and Arthur stayed in Japan. The Forger pretending to have only a casual interest in Ariadne's well being. Arthur knew Eames was very worried for her.

For the Point Man, things were happening to slowly. The weak little creature in the hospital bed held no resemblance to the Ariadne he knew. His concern for her was something he did not attempt to hide. Not from Eames or the Australian Team.

"So how long have you two been together?" The Australian Extractor asked. He and Arthur were in the family waiting room. The Point Man looked up in surprise at the question. He face betrayed the sleepless nights he had endured.

"Oh..." He said trying to think. "No, were not a couple." He said sadly. "She's just our Architect."

"_Sure_ she is." The Extractor said kindly. "That's why your always here, waiting for her to wake up." He smiled softly. Arthur shook his head.

"Were not together." The Point Man said firmly.  
>"Well, maybe when she's better." The Extractor offered. Arthur allowed the pleasant idea to enter his mind.<p>

"Maybe." He conceded. Arthur let his tired mind wander over thoughts of he and the Architect. Of what they could be together... if she would only come back to him.

~He daydreamed of them together. In her small apartment in Paris. Her rustic furniture. Her comfortable looking bed. He imagined them hiding from the daylight under the covers all day. Talking about simple and easy things. Maybe they would venture out of bed to eat or drink something. They would listen to music, look at her art books. Night would come over them. Perhaps they would make love. An act that was comfortable for them. Easy. They would come up for air in the morning. Go outside into the city. Eat, and enjoy the sights. He would hold her hand. She would smile. Her face healthy and her eyes bright. Arthur found himself smiling softly at the thought.

~The Architect was unsure how much time passed. Her body was spent. She was too tired now to cry out. To exhausted to fight the staff. Her restraints were removed. Her arms and legs were limp.

When Ariadne would wake up, a nurse would give her water and she would sleep again. She was alone in her room except for the silent nurse who never spoke and only gave her water and made sure she was comfortable.

She had strange nightmares. They came and faded away, leaving no memory that they were even there at all.

~ Finally, she woke up to daylight. She body was so tired. She looked at the foot of her bed. Cobb, Eames and Arthur were sitting there with no expressions on their faces. Saito was standing in the corner beside a large window that presented a exceptional view of the city. A Female Doctor was standing beside her bed.

"Ariadne?" The Doctor said in perfect English. "I am Doctor Yori." Ariadne nodded and tried to not think about her head hurting. "I need you to tell me and these men here," She looked at the Team "What you _know_ to be real."

Ariadne nodded and tried to find her voice.

"I...I'm in a hospital." She croaked. Her voice sore from being silent for so long. She looked out the window at the city.

"I'm in Japan." She said recognizing the architecture. "I... I worked with you." She nodded at the men. They said nothing and looked strait ahead. Nothing about their faces let her know if she was right or wrong.

"I... umm... I was kidnapped. Men broke into my home and..." She stopped then, not wanting to remember to the attack. The falling flowers.

"I was in a dark place...I was there for a long time. They told me that Cobb, had told them to kill me." She said.

She was half afraid Cobb would stand up and yell, but her remained seated. His face a deep scowl.

"Then, I was rescued. I was taken out of that basement. I was in a hospital. They told me Cobb and Arthur always had their Architects killed. My mind wasn't working right... I was... lost. They had me build for them. Braker and Fedor were with me. I dreamed-"

"No." Yori interrupted gently. "Tell us what you _know_ is real" Ariadne nodded and tears fell down her face.

"I built for them. I was scared not to." She started to cry. "Then, I was taken out of that place by Cobb and Braker's people. We all left together."

"Do you believe these men are trying to kill you?" Yori asked.

Ariadne shook her head.

"Why not?" The Doctor said. "Why don't you believe it?"

"Because I _know_ it. I _know_ it's not true." Ariadne said at last. She cried then. Ugly ripping sobs.

Then, Arthur was holding her. Eames was rubbing her back. She let them comfort her till she felt relieved and could sleep again without any fear.


	8. Wake up Music

Wake Up Music

"_Without the Darkness, how would we recognize the light?"_

_Tuvok , Star Trek: Voyager_

~The days fell away. Ariadne felt better and more clear headed with the cure of time.

Fedor had to be placed in a psychiatric hospital until his people could be located. He mumbled constantly about needing to wake up. His face never lost it's troubled, haunted look. It filled Cobb and his Team with a new respect for what could have happened to Ariadne.

The Architect was still in the hospital but it was mainly till Cobb and the others could decide on what to do next. They were off the grid for now. Only a few people knew where they were. Saito had far reaching powers. The Business Man was able to hide them safely from the world.

Saito had been overly generous to Ariadne. Her hospital room was large and opulent by any standards. Her care staff, professional but never doting. He had arranged a personal shopper to provide her with new clothes. Even having an assistant go to Paris to retrieve her more personal articles. Ariadne didn't want much. An old leather carry all. A few photographs. Her sketch books. Her journals. She felt much better being dressed in her usual style and started to return to her old self.

~A knock on the door. She came out of the bathroom in her hospital room, and Arthur was there with flowers. She smiled when she saw him. All of the fears and nightmares from before had faded away. How could she believe for a moment that he could hurt her?

"Are those for me?" She asked pointing at the beautiful arrangement with a shy smile. He didn't say anything as he sat the vase with the overly large flora on her little table.

"Anyone in the hospital, should get flowers." He said. "Cobb is to busy running around with Saito and Eames is to busy running around." he sighed as he straitened his suit. "So it fell to me."

"What a horrible chore." She teased sadly looking over the stunning colors. "Their perfect." She said softly.

It felt like she should embrace him then, but the air hung between them. To many things had happened. It seemed they couldn't go back to the easy flirting they had shared before. Arthur looked embarrassed.

"Do you have any plans?" He asked finally. Awkwardly.

"I don't think I'll go back to Paris." She said packing her old leather carry all the assistant had brought back from her apartment.

"COBAL is still out there." She sighed and looked at him. "It's not safe."

"I'm sorry" Arthur said sadly. "Cobb and I... we never meant any of this to happen to you."

"I know." She told him quickly. "I knew this kind of work would have it's consequences."

He nodded then. The silence between them spread out.  
>"Saito has offered us work here." He said brightly. "We would be his personal extraction Team. Teach his engineers to defend against extractions and the like. An occasional extraction or inception. Cobb is planning on bringing his kids in from the states next week."<p>

"Dose he think COBAL can you here?" She asked.

"Not likely. We took their fancy PASIV. Yuseff said it was a prototype. Without their Extractor, they have no Team and he is long gone." Arthur told her taking a seat. "You know...can always-"

"Hello Gorgeous!" Came a friendly Australian accent. Ariadne turned to see Braker standing in her door with a big smile.

"Hello Handsome!" She laughed as the Australian Forger scoped her into a bear hug. Ariadne's face became bright and happy at seeing her fellow capture up and about again. They had both recovered very well from their shared experience of being taken and drugged by COBAL.

"You did _really_ good back there in the dream. Proud of you." He said still holding her up. Her feet never touching the ground. Ariadne smiled.

"You get tired of running around with these Americans you can come to Sydney with us. Our Architect is rubbish compared to you." He cut his gaze to the flowers Arthur had brought. "Nice flowers." He added as he dropped her back down to the floor. She laughed as he let her go. Arthur looked uncomfortable, and annoyed.

"Umm... Arthur you remember Braker?" She said slightly embarrassed by the Australian Forger's show of affection.

"Yes." The Point Man said curtly.  
>"Darling, you didn't tell him about <em>us<em> did you?" Braker teased as Ariadne gave him a swift slap to the chest and smiled.

The Australian Forger was dressed in worn jeans and a T shirt. It was a far cry from the style of Arthur and the rest of the Team, but it looked rugged and handsome on him.

"You look really good." She added looking him up and down.

"I have to say Love, I like Japan. Never thought I'd take a shine to Sushi but it's really grown on me. Might even stay here and eat it all the time." Braker said.

"And get really fat?" She asked.

"Naw, it's alright. I'll just become one of those Sumo blokes." He told her.

Arthur could only watch in horror as the Australian Forger made himself at home in the Architect's privet hospital room. Ariadne didn't seem to mind as he stretched himself out on her bed and turned on her T.V.

"It's a shame were leaving today. I've enjoyed the vacation. We could have stayed up all night again with another Zombie movie marathon." Braker said flicking through the channels.

She laughed and looked at Arthur who's face remained grave. For no reason at all, he suddenly _hated_ Braker.

Braker flipped off the T.V. and stood up to walk out. "Well Gorgeous, I gotta get back home." He went out into the hall and retrieved a paper bag. "Something to remember me by, Love." he said giving it to her.  
>"What's this?" She asked with a smile as she opened it. Inside was a very nice camera.<p>

"Since you want to stay in Japan to work for Saito. Study all the old architecture and what not. Thought you would need a good camera." he said slyly.

"Thank you." She said and gave the Australian Forger a big hug. Braker let her go and headed for the door.

"Call me anytime, Love." He said with a big smile. "Have fun you two." he added before he was gone. Arthur looked at the Architect in surprise. Ariadne shrugged.

"Saito wants me to stay on Cobb's team. I can study architecture here in Tokyo. Even work as one if I wanted to." She shrugged. "I took him up on the offer." She said innocently.

Arthur smiled and stood up.

"You didn't say anything." He said walking over to her. Ariadne straitened his tie and smiled.

"I know." She said with the same smug expression he had given her, when he kissed her in the dream.

It was suddenly easy again. To be with her. To talk to her. To be her friend and her teacher. To be more. His hands were around her waist. His nose in her hair, her chest to his.

"I was so worried about you." He said in a fearful whisper. "If I had been there..."

"I know." She said into his chest. "I know you never would have allowed them to take me. I _know___that." His hands were on her back and he kissed the top of her head. "It was that knowledge, that memory, that helped me to come back."

"Now that Fischer has dissolved his father's empire, Saito is certain COABL will be the next to fall." Arthur said softly lacing his hands though her hair.. "You _could_ go back to your old life. If that was what you would want."

"No. There will always be people looking to steal a good Architect." Ariadne reasoned. "I'm better off with you guys."

Arthur smiled, and held her closer. Held her for just a little longer.

"Saito owns an apartment building not far away. It's very nice." he said finally releasing her and taking her now packed bag. Ariadne took a smile silver key from her pocket.

"He came by earlier today to drop off my key." She smiled mischievously.

Arthur had to crack a smile as she took her flowers off the little table and her new camera. The Point Man took the Architect's hand and smiled.

"Let's go see our new home." He said.

** ~Thank you to all my fans who have read and left reviews for this series. Next in this series is "Bliss". I don't think I will re-post "Bliss". I only Re-Posted this story because it was my first story and I was not sure what I was doing and where the story would go. So it's nice to go back and "add things". **

** I wanted to have more about Braker. How close he and Ariadne were... before. You'll have to read more to find out what went on with Braker. LOL. **

**I plan to do more Fan-Fic soon. ~**


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